There are plenty of needy countries at the U.N. climate talks in Bangkok that make the case they need financial assistance to adapt to the impacts of global warming. Then there are the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has led a quiet campaign during these and other negotiations — demanding behind closed doors that oil-producing nations get special financial assistance if a new climate pact calls for substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels . . .

“We are among the economically vulnerable countries,” Al Sabban told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the talks ahead of negotiations in Copenhagen in December for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.”This is very serious for us,” he continued. “We are in the process of diversifying our economy but this will take a long time. We don’t have too many resources.”

Saudi Arabia, which sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, is seeing economic growth slide because of fallout from the global meltdown, but experts still expect the country, flush with cash from oil’s earlier price spike last year, to be better able than other nations to cope with the current crisis.”

Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

please stop posting on these topics, otherwise I will stop coming to your site…

We are getting pretty surreal here… The most surreal thing which seems not to have gotten much traction was the story re: Ahmedinejad…

Dude, Ahmedinejad is f**kin Jewish!!!!! That is literally insane… I can’t believe he hasn’t been ridiculed to the point of suicide already… This should be on the cover of every paper till he off’s himself…

The jewish thing and Ahmedinejad is a classic case in Iran, everytime one side tries to discredit the other they start calling each other jews; it is Anti semitism in essence.
I can’t understand the Telegraph fell for it.

SINGER
I’m saying the information published by the Telegraph was incomplete and nobody jumped on it because it smells like BS.
I guess we may hear about it again, but further research is needed.

http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites-monde/2009-10-05/iran-ahmadinejad-serait-d-origine-juive-selon-un-journal-britannique/924/0/382776
“The affirmation of the British newspaper, that the Sabourjian are traditionally from Aradan, the native village of Ahmadinejad, is “inconclusive and non-sourced,” analyzes a French specialist on Iran, questioned by lepoint.fr. “It is fashionable in Iran to say that someone is of Jewish descent. This is said to discredit important people. All this is rooted in a latent anti-Semitism. I know Aradan, the farming village of origin of the father of Ahmadinejad. To my knowledge there is no Jewish population in this village near the town of Garmsar, 100 miles southeast of Tehran. But it should be checked.”

Most people don’t realize the crooks who keep the jack boot of tyranny on the people of Saudi Arabia, ie the Royal Family, (give me a f*cking break. Royal crooks) have run up gargantuan world debts over the last twenty years. Debts used to live the good life afforded them by their extravagant lifestyles and embrace of western culture all while they espouse radical Hitler-eque propaganda of repressive human rights and lifestyles of abstinence for the poor slobs unlucky enough to be born in that country. Saudi Arabia is one of the most debt-levered countries on earth. I have been stating for years the oil fiefdoms are going DOWN when oil collapses. And it will.

Reminds me of Tony Bennett

Ahhh the good life, full of fun seems to be the ideal……….Well, just wake up and kiss the good life (and your arse) good bye………….

on this Ahmadinejad not believing the Holocaust happened … imo he may be questioning reasons (if I understood his language and could translate myself) .. not that it didn’t happen .. funny this www and the tidbits that fly around * (& faked photos) (how could anyone think Holocaust photos were faked)(it would be hard to fake them with that clarity today) .. who knows what to believe (when controlling minds is the utmost importance)

Any chance the Saudis would consider letting the consuming nations help set the price for their product as part of the package, not just keeping OPEC a “suppliers only” club? I didn’t think so. Go pound sand.

Singer, other folks are trying to tell you — perhaps in a manner not sufficiently obvious — that the rumour of Ahma-denier-jad’s heritage is untrue. (I’ve read very little and have nothing to add other than that attempt at clarification.)

Say Hello

About Barry Ritholtz

Ritholtz has been observing capital markets with a critical eye for 20 years. With a background in math & sciences and a law school degree, he is not your typical Wall St. persona. He left Law for Finance, working as a trader, researcher and strategist before graduating to asset managementRead More...

Quote of the Day

"Misers aren't fun to live with, but they make wonderful ancestors." -David Brenner

Sign Up For My Newsletter

Get subscriber only insights and news delivered by Barry every two weeks.